Abstract
Essential oils are natural complex substances biosynthesized by plants, and many of them have antimicrobial properties. Dysphania ambrosioides is a medicinal plant traditionally used as an anthelmintic medicine. In this study, the antifungal activity of D. ambrosioides essential oil was tested against Botrytis cinerea, which is responsible for large economic losses in the post-harvest of roses. Inflorescences of D. ambrosioides yielded 1.3 mg.g-1 of essential oil in fresh material, corresponding to a content of 0.13%. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed 11 compounds in the essential oil with ascaridol and O-cymene corresponding to 80% of the total. The essential oil reduced B. cinerea mycelial growth by approximately 60% and spores germination by 51% at the concentration of 1000 ppm. However, no apparent morphological changes were observed in scanning electron microscopy analyzes. The essential oil was not able to reduce mycelial growth on rose petals and caused a color change in the petals 24 h after the treatment. Although the essential oil has little potential to control B. cinerea on roses due to the color change it causes, its activity on mycelial growth and spores germination could be exploited in other pathosystems. Key words: Rosa hybrida, grey mold, chenopodium ambrosioides.
Highlights
Essential oils are natural plant products known as volatile oils
Inflorescences appear to yield lower amounts of essential oil when compared to seeds and fruits that contain most of essential oil of the plant (Dembitsky et al, 2008)
Observations done in another study indicate that the yield of essential oil is approximately 9 times higher in fruits and seeds than in inflorescences (Unpublished data)
Summary
Essential oils are natural plant products known as volatile oils. They are fragrant substances with an oily consistency composed of a complex mixture of volatile molecules that may have multiple antimicrobial properties (Bassolé and Juliani, 2012). Some essential oils have activity by direct contact and through the vapor phase, suggesting their use as fumigants (Umpiérrez et al, 2012). The use of fumigants avoids the direct contact with plants protecting them from possible harmful effects and ensures more security to the consumers (Shao et al, 2013; Umpiérrez et al, 2012).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
